In Sniper Elite, players assume the role of an American sniper, disguised as a German soldier and dropped into war torn 1945 Berlin by the American OSS to gather intelligence on the top-secret German Atomic research.

If his mission fails, control of the world’s Atomic technology will fall into the hands of Stalin and the Soviet Army, throwing the world’s political climate into chaos. In the undercover mission, players utilize their sniper training to gain access to key positions by taking out machine guns, armored vehicles, guard posts and sentries through stealth and pinpoint accuracy. Like a true sniper, players must follow their wits and instincts and utilize both first and third-person perspectives to negotiate through 28 open-ended levels in war-torn Berlin. In taking aim at enemy soldiers, players need to consider gravity, wind speed, heart rate, breathing and posture to successfully hit their target in one of the most authentic sniping mechanics ever devised. Players can even take up the fight or go head-to-head with a friend in the cooperative or competitive offline play modes, or even engage in a game of worldwide cat-and-mouse with up to eight players online

Sniper Elite is a third-person shooter that involves much stealth and patience. To reinforce the stealth aspect, there is a camouflage index measured in percentage that displays the visibility of the protagonist. Fairburne uses several WWII-era weapons, including sniper rifles (Gewehr 43, SVT-40, Mosin-Nagant M91/30), a silenced pistol (Walther P38), submachine guns (MP 40, PPSh-41), machine guns (MG 42, DP), an anti-tank weapon (Panzershreck), and German and Soviet hand grenades (which can be also used to make tripwire boobytraps).Only one weapon of each class may be carried at a time. One of the main features of the game is the option of realistic ballistics, involving factors such as bullet drop, wind strength, and breathing when attempting a shot. Sniping gameplay is in first person scope view, whereas movement and use of all other weapons is in third person view. When the player makes an extreme sniper shot, the view follows the path of the bullet in slow motion, while the camera rotates around the bullet.